Memories
by Ink Knight
Summary: J/TK, OC/OC, J/Z, A/T...Summary inside.
1. Summary

Jake and Darra have separated due to an argument over their future plans. Both quit the Jedi Order and went their separate ways. Darra joined the security force of an out of the way colony planet to get away from anyone's pity and attempt to deal with her pain as Jake joined a smuggling company. A year later Darra gets a call from her old friend Jacen Solo asking for help with a Zurgan with severe amnesia, the man doesn't even remember his own name. But when she gets there she receives an unpleasant surprise and all the bad memories of the argument and separation come roaring back to her.


	2. Nightmares and Reality

He walked away from her, he didn't look back, felt no remorse for leaving this life behind

_He walked away from her, he didn't look back, felt no remorse for leaving this life behind. She stared after him, tears filling her eyes. She didn't know how he could just leave her there, how he could be content to forget all that had happened in the past. She watched him disappear into the darkness of the night._

Darra Storm awoke, panting heavily, with the sheets tangled about her legs. She scowled when she realized what had woken her. She hadn't had that dream in months, almost a year, and she considered it a sign of the weakness and dependency she thought she had left behind long ago. She sighed and fell back onto her pillow, staring up at the ceiling she wondered why the dream had come back now of all times.

He backed slowly away from the burly man standing before him. The man advanced, matching him step for step. He bumped up against the low railing that was the only thing separating him from the long fall below. He swallowed and then the man's fist lashed out, catching him on the jaw. As he fell his last conscious thought was that maybe he shouldn't have been so eager to deal with this crowd.

Tenel Ka left the room she shared with two of her friends to start her morning exercises. But when she got outside she was interrupted by a low groan. She looked around till she spotted the source of the sound. It was a man; he was lying in the yard at the foot of the low walls. Tenel Ka dashed back inside, and woke Tahiri and Jaina.

"Whaa?" Jaina mumbled as Tenel Ka dragged the two outside.

"Kriff! Tenel Ka, it's _cold_. Why are we outside?" Tahiri shivered. The red haired athlete simply pointed to the unconscious man. The three of them lifted him and carried him into the house.

Jacen Solo woke to a sharp rap on his door. As he stood he bumped into his brother, Anakin, and tripped over Zekk.

_Kriff. Why can't they stay in their beds?_ Jacen questioned silently. He kicked Lowie on the way to the door and opened it. What he found there was completely unexpected, Tenel Ka stood outside his door with his sister Jaina. For once Tenel Ka looked worried, Jaina probably would have too but at the moment she just looked tired and irritated.

"Friend Jacen, we found a stranger in the yard and he appears to need help." Tenel Ka stated simply. Jacen nodded and kicked the other guys in the ribs on his way to get a shirt.

"Ow! Jace, what was that for?" Anakin whined, and Zekk moaned while Lowie rumbled his own complaints.

"We got ourselves a guest bro, needs some help." Jacen responded.

"Come _on_ Jasa! We need you right now, not next year." Jaina griped from the door.

"Comin', I'm comin'!" Jacen responded, amused and a little annoyed. He left the room, kicking Lowie once more for good measure. He got to the living room and saw the guy lying unconscious on the couch. The man stirred and opened his eyes.

"What's your name, bro?" Jacen asked, stepping forward.

"I-I don't know." He said after a moment of thought.

Darra stalked through town that day, her scowl seeming almost permanent. She didn't like the thought that she might still miss him, that she could still dream about him. She could have gone back to Zur after he left but she hadn't, they wouldn't have left her alone. So she had joined an out of the way colony on the edges of the known regions. She entered a store and approached the counter.

"Ms. Storm. There's a message for you today." The manager of the public comm. said.

"From who?" She asked gruffly, in no mood for sales chatter.

"Jacen Solo." He answered. Darra sighed; he probably wanted her to come back to Naboo, reconsider having left the Order and all that junk.

"Let me hear it." She said in an extremely resigned manner, he motioned her towards one of the enclosed booths and let her inside. She entered her ID and password then sat back, prepared for another one of Jacen's pep talks. What she got instead was a request for help.

"Hey Darra, a Zurgan showed up at our place and he needs some help. We don't know what to do for him and Tahiri suggested we call you, please come out here.

-Jacen" She groaned as she realized she couldn't turn him down. She got up and left the booth, flicking a coin to the manager she went home.


	3. Old Friends

Jaina stood with her brothers at the landing pad where they waited for Darra to arrive. She couldn't help herself as she scanned the skies for the _Storm_ and had to physically force herself to look for the public transport Darra would be taking. Darra had sold the _Storm_ before leaving to join the isolated colony she was a member of. As far as Jaina knew Darra belonged to the meager security force on the planet, lending the knack she had for tracking anything, objects as well as living creatures, to their almost talent less crew. She was probably revered as a former Jedi and friend of the Solo twins, that is if she told anyone of her past; Jaina doubted that and so did everyone else. A Corellian YT-1200 supply shuttle came down a few meters from where the three Solos stood and the landing ramp descended. Darra strode onto the planet's surface looking bored and world-weary; she was dressed in a simple uniform consisting of black pants, boots, and jacket, which she had slung over one shoulder of her plain, white, long sleeve shirt. Her gray-blue eyes flicked around the landing platform with a distance that suggested it was more reflex than necessity. When they came to rest on her, Jaina shivered; those eyes that had once been deep pools of emotion now only showed a bleak emptiness. She glanced nervously at Jacen to find his usually relaxed, grinning, features set into a grim mask. That really got her worried; Jacen _never_ stopped smiling and trying to lighten things up, no matter how grim the circumstances. She mustered what she hoped was a cocky smile and moved forward to greet Darra.

"It's good to see you again." Jaina said and silently berated herself, even in her head that had sounded lame. But all she got in return was a mute nod. The silence stretched on until it was almost unbearable, Jacen cleared his throat and put on a weak imitation of his usual lopsided grin.

"Let's move on, shall we?" He asked, his voice quieter than usual and without it's normal slang. Another nod from their silent guest and they all trooped off towards the house.

_It feels like a funeral procession, and maybe it is; an extremely delayed funeral for a man we had thought would be with us forever._ They got to the door and it burst open before Anakin could touch the knob. Tahiri came out of the house and entrapped Darra in a tight hug. Jaina winced as the Zurgan tensed, her eyes widening a fraction before awkwardly returning the younger woman's hug. She threw a pleading glance at Tenel Ka before trying to squirm out of Tahiri's grip.

"Okay, I get the point. You can let go now." She grumbled, gently pushing Tahiri towards Anakin. Jacen grinned and moved to help his friend, but there was no need; for Anakin himself intervened; catching Tahiri up in an overly romantic hug that released the extremely tense Darra. She and Tenel Ka exchanged nods but Jaina could see that Tenel Ka was worried by this distant and grim exterior. None of them could tell what she was really feeling; she had shields up to rival Tenel Ka's legendary control.

"So what's the problem?" Darra asked gruffly, her face impassive as she looked at Jacen.

"I went outside for my usual exercises a few days ago and there was a young man lying on the ground just inside the wall. He appears to have a concussion and doesn't remember anything other than the fact that he woke up here." Tenel Ka said. Darra listened in silence.

"Even if this guy is Zurgan why do you need me?" She asked bluntly, looking back at Jacen with her empty gaze. Jacen shivered involuntarily as her eyes focused on him and Jaina couldn't blame him, the empty gray-blue eyes set in the blank expression made for a very unnerving look.

"W-well…We were hoping you might know him or something. He feels vaguely familiar and we've been calling him…Well, we've been calling him Josh." Jacen said, flinching at the rage that was sure to erupt at the sound of the familiar name. Darra's face didn't twitch and she turned back to Tenel Ka.

"Take me to him." She said simply, Tenel Ka nodded and gestured for her to follow. They walked into the main room, the rest of the group trailing behind. But Darra froze as soon as she saw him, her nostrils flared to better analyze the scent and her eyes containing a bewildering mix of emotions.


	4. Unexpected Reunion

A feral snarl ripped from Darra's throat and she leapt forward, her clenched fist catching the painfully familiar man across the face.

"You!" She growled, grabbing him by the front of his borrowed shirt and shoving him against the wall.

"Only you would dare this, I should have known the moment I got the call. Jake Saber has returned and wishes to rejoin us. Well you can forget it! Go back to whatever slimy hole you climbed out of because if you don't I will personally rip you to shreds." She hissed, her face not far from his.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." He stuttered, his eyes wide with fear and sincerity shining in their icy blue depths. Darra had to swallow back a painful lump in her throat as she stared into those familiar pools of ice. Two sets of hands grabbed her shoulders in her moment of distraction and dragged her away from the man, freeing him. He staggered and caught his balance, waving off Jacen's proffered help.

"Is that really Jake?" Jaina asked, her brown eyes wide as she looked between the two Zurgans. There were similarities, definitely. The eyes for one, and then his hair was the same pitch black color but cropped much shorter. He was more muscular than any of them remembered Jake to be, not as gangly since he seemed to have finally filled out his lanky frame. But nothing could fool Darra's nose, so when she gave Jaina a withering glare and then looked away the brown haired Solo looked in wonder in the man who had returned without a single memory of why he'd left in the first place. Darra shook off the loosely restraining hands of Zekk and Lowie and stalked out of the house, slamming the door behind her. That left the group staring at each other and Jake staring at the closed door, a confused look on his face.

Darra wandered without seeing where she was going, her expression a mask of serenity while her emotions where in turmoil. She looked around finally and found herself in a secluded park surrounded by trees. She collapsed at the base of one large trunk, the tears spilling over after three years of hiding and controlling them. She was racked by sobs that instinctively made her long for a familiar pair of arms wrapped around her and holding her together, that soothing voice whispering reassurances in her ear. Such thoughts only made her cry harder and she was left gasping by each sob that shook her body. She lay in the shelter of that grove of trees for she didn't know how long, until finally the tears dried up. But she still didn't rise; instead she curled on her side, hugging herself as she lay on the grass. She must have fallen asleep for the next thing she knew it was morning and a concerned pair of gray eyes studied her guardedly.

"Tenel Ka. Hey, I must look pretty pitiful right now huh?" Darra said, sitting up and rubbing her painfully dry eyes with a sigh and a humorless laugh. Tenel Ka shook her head in disagreement and watched her with careful eyes.

"No, Friend Darra. Pitiful is a word that will never be used to describe you. What you are is in pain, it is altogether reasonable for you to be in such a state at this time." She replied and Darra chuckled again.

"Obviously you've forgotten the last time I cried like this. I was truly pitiful then, sobbing on the ground as if my very heart had been ripped out. It was melodramatic and stupid, not to mention utterly weak and a sign of complete dependency." She said scathingly, hating that earlier self and wishing it would stop returning to bother her.

"There is no shame in past actions Darra. Who you were often contributes greatly to who you are." Tenel Ka answered firmly and Darra shook her head. Her jaw was clenched and she stared angrily at the trunk of a tree a little ways in front of her.

"Why did he have to show up now Tenel Ka?" She asked, her voice a mere hoarse whisper.

"I do not know Friend." Tenel Ka responded with a sigh.

Jake Saber lay on the makeshift bed he had been given by the helpful young Jedi all night and thought of what had happened that day. Vague flashes of memory had started to return but they were blurry and unclear, as if viewed through water. The one image that was clear was that of the girl he had seen before, only here she was grinning challengingly at him with her arms crossed and a lightsaber hanging at her hip. He figured that these flashes of memory had been triggered by hearing his name, and he knew it was his name. It felt right when she had called him Jake, though the tone with which she had said the name had felt off. But he couldn't remember much else and had a feeling that those memories would take time to return. He also somehow knew that they would come faster if he talked with Darra, how he knew her name he could only guess, but he had a feeling from her earlier reaction that that would be a difficult prospect to go through with. He finally sighed and rolled over; knowing that over thinking it wouldn't help at all. His eyes closed and soon he was asleep.


End file.
